101 ways to repel a marriage

Chapter 19

"So you are telling that Professor Salahuddin likes you but chose to be with Shahma,"

Sushi nodded her head.

"Then why didn't he show up now?"

He sipped the tea. He asked the question even if he knew the answer. He knew that this was going to be the ending, he knew it right from the start, right from the moment when he knew that he had a crush on her. The scarf on her head was powerful enough to separate their worlds. It was foolish of him to fall for her but it was not his choice to be foolish, it was his heart's.

"He is being practical, of course"

She took another bite from her parippu vada. Damu eattan's parippu vada was always tasty and crunchy but for some reason the vada was not tasty enough that day.

She could here the hiss sound from the the open kitchen inviting the pedestrians to try a masala dosa. The smell of Masala dosa wafted through the air. The mixture of the spicy masala's aroma with the spell of ghee made the invitation irresistible. The smell of Masala dosa from Damu eattan's thattukada had always managed to water her mouth but not that day.

"May be, we should be practical too" Thomas suggested as he looked at the cup of black tea.

" Being practical is for losers," Aunt Anna took a chair from the nearby table and joined them as both of them looked at her agape.

Sushi looked at Thomas and did karate with her eyes. She did not know how terrible she was at eye language since Shahma never mentioned it. It was Shahma's pro-ness that helped in the survival of the eye language between them.
However, Thomas did not need an eye sign to follow her message.

"With all due respect, Aunt, what are you doing here?"

She looked around her. The thattukada did not have a fancy ceiling like the restaurants she used to go to. It rather had a blue sheet that waved with the wind. The floor was not shining with white tiles, it rather resembled foot path. Aunt Anna scrunched her nose. The air conditioning was being done by natural winds. She rolled her eyes. The chitter chatter did not silence the noise of the vehicles from the nearby highway. She did not like the steel plate and glass they used to serve the dishes. It reminded her of her dark days. However, the smell of the food was heavenly. She pinched a piece of parippuvada from Sushmitha.

Thomas waited for her answer and he realized that the writer was in her own world.

"Aunt Anna, I asked you something?"

" Yes, this parippu vada is delicious, isn't it?"

"That doesn't answer my question..." Thomas shook his head as he kept his arms on the table , back straight and hard glare.

Aunt Anna could not help but notice the similarity between the son and the father when they were giving an 'I want an answer' sign.

"Well...she texted you to come here isn't it?"

"Yes, she texted me and not you," it was only then that Thomas had a grip over what was happening, " you hacked my phone again!" He face palmed.

"Again? So she has done it before" Sushi looked at Aunt Anna.

" Oh , you can't blame me for doing it, I was only doing an honest research for my novel," She extended her arm to have another piece from the parippuvada but this time, Sushi was fast in protecting her parippuvada by covering it from all sides with her hand and mouth. Aunt Anna sighed as she withdrew her hand. "Anyway back to the topic, give me your phone ,Sushmitha,"

"Aunt, please stop interfering in my personal life,"

"Oh I was not this interested before but now I just can't wait to write this down. It is so complicatedly beautiful," She grabbed the phone from Sushi's hand. Sushi thought that she was aiming for the parippuvada so she concentrated more on her right hand, jeopardizing the phone that she just took from her bag.

Sushmitha and Thomas looked at each other. Sushi took another bite from her almost eaten vada.

They looked at Aunt Anna who was typing very fast like her life depended on it.

They looked at Sushmitha's phone which beeped every once in a while.

"What are you doing?" Sushmitha's hands became free when the parippuvada was over and she tried to grab her phone back. Her hands retreated when Aunt Anna slapped on it. Her hand became red due to the sudden action and she glared at her classmate. He whispered a sorry.

She looked at Aunt Anna. Aunt Anna looked intimidating. The black saree and the black ornaments. Her straight hair pulled into a long pony tail that swung with her long earrings whenever she moved her head. Her make up was heavy , very heavy and very awkward. She was only as tall as Shahma but her high heels made her look way more taller.

"He loves you so why not go for it?" Aunt Anna turned the phone and showed the chat with Professor Salahuddin. However, there was only one message.

Please don't send me any more messages regarding the matter.

Aunt Anna even deleted the message that Sushi received that morning. Sushi grabbed her phone back as Aunt Anna grinned at her.

"Why did you delete all those messages?" Sushi kept her phone on the table " and how can you say that he loves me?"

"Why else than because it is a secret,"Aunt Anna shrugged before patting Sushmitha on her shoulder"You can thank me later,"

There was a short period of silence as Thomas and his aunt looked at Sushmitha. Sushmitha's eyes were glued on to her phone on her lap.

" Is the lover girl lost in her own world?" Aunt Anna said.

Sushmitha raised her head, the red eyes making a calm yet stormy eye contact with Thomas's aunt. She did not know if it was heart break of the magic done by her periods that was only a few days away. Either way, she hated that heated feeling inside.

Thomas facepalmed, again. He realized that his face might turn red if his aunt decided not to leave.

"Now even if he loves me and even if Shahma leaves him, there is no chance between us." Sushmitha said it even if she wished that it was not the truth. She felt really attached to him, like something was pulling her towards him. The way he smiled, the way he spoke, the way he always stood up for what he believed... she loved everything. Even if she knew that it was impossible for them to be together.

"And Aunt Anna, please stop interfering in my life...I am not a damn character in your book," Thomas took his bag and stood up. He wanted to be free from the fantasy and Aunt Anna was not helping. All that she could do was only hurt him more. He stomped towards the door.

" Thomas," he halted when he heard his Aunt's voice "I did not take my purse so if it is your treat, please pay for the bill before you leave"

Thomas glared at his Aunt as he paid the bill.

"Sushmitha," Aunt Anna kept her hands on Sushmitha's "that boy is a fool, trust me, your love story is still not out of your grip, give it a chance,"

Sushmitha withdrew her hand and sighed. She looked at Thomas's aunt for a few seconds before leaving with her phone and bag.

Aunt Anna's eyes followed Sushmitha's sulking figure.

"Kids these days, " She sighed before leaving the place herself. Now, everything was in her hands. She had to do it alone for her nephew's happiness and she was not a coward who would backdown due the fear of 'what would happen,'. She had been like that a few times in her past and all that it could manage to bring was only regrets.

She believed in love even if she had wounds that were neither fresh nor healed due to her first love. The value of love did not depend on the position of the person in the list of people that a person had crush on, it rather depended on the honesty of feelings. She did not want her nephew to have regrets and she was ready to play Cupid, for better or worse.

She could believe in love even after everything that happened to her so she was sure that she could make her nephew believe in it too.